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Archive for September, 2010
Thursday, September 30th, 2010
Unlike most folks today, we work with VHS tapes every day here at Timeless DVD. But it wasn’t that long ago that rewinding and fast-forwarding tapes was a common occurrence for everyone. We’ve moved from tape to DVD to various types of digital storage quickly over the past ten years. The technology always gets smaller, cheaper, and easier to use. A few posts ago, we discussed potential successors to DVD: cloud storage, Blu-Ray, and computer video on demand. Today, Flash memory cards take a turn.
 Flash memory has mainly been used for digital cameras and quick file-sharing between computers over the past ten years. But recently, the technology has migrated to video as well. The most popular camcorders these days are arguably Flash camcorders. Flash memory, with its quick read/write times, durability, and small size, offers advantages that traditional tape- and disc-based camcorders can’t match.
And more importantly, Hollywood is paying attention. Recently, Kingston, a primary Flash manufacturer, paired up with Paramount Studios to begin selling feature films on Flash cards and USB drives. No disc required: just plug in the card and you’re good to go! And a company called Portomedia is developing kiosks where you can plug in a Flash USB drive and download movies. (Similar in theory to the popular Redbox kiosks, just without DVDs.)
Naturally, the small size of Flash memory cards is incredibly appealing–especially to those of us who have shelves and shelves full of DVDs! Is Flash the upcoming king of movie delivery? What do you think?
Sunday, September 26th, 2010
As more and more classic films are released on Blu-Ray, it becomes apparent which big names are missing. Some of the most obvious are the Star Wars films. But recently, George Lucas finally announced that the saga will be released on Blu-Ray by the end of 2011.
 Unfortunately, Lucas only plans to release the late ’90s “special editions” of the original three films. For purists, this amounts to heresy. The special editions include all of Lucas’s questionable edits, including Greedo shooting first, Jabba grunting as Han steps on his tail, and–most horribly–Hayden Christensen replacing Sebastian Shaw as “Ghost Anakin” at the end of Return of the Jedi. (The original shot can be seen at right.)
It’s hard to believe, but way back in 1988, George Lucas actually testified at a congressional hearing regarding the colorization of classic black-and-white films. “Our cultural history must not be allowed to be rewritten,” he told the panel.
What irony. This is the man who voluntarily wishes to wipe his original prints of Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi from existence.
Lucas has stated that he thinks it’s the director’s prerogative to go back and re-edit his or her own movie. In his case, he believes that the original versions they don’t represent his original vision, that it would be cost-prohibitive to make Blu-Ray transfers from the original films (as opposed to the already-upgraded special editions), and that the original negatives were permanently altered for the special editions, so it’s not possible anyway.
However, the 1977, 1981, and 1983 movies are the versions that fans remember. They are part of our childhoods…our “cultural history.” So it’s hard to see how Lucas’s position on black-and-white films makes sense, given that fact.
Personally, I would be OK with Lucas revising his films as much as he wanted as long as he always made the original cuts available in the same medium as well (such as Blu-Ray). But again, that violates his belief that the originals are flawed. Oh well–we’ll always have standard-def DVD! Who needs HD anyway?
Thursday, September 23rd, 2010
Without a doubt, the biggest pain of enjoying a 3-D in your home is having to wear the glasses. (Isn’t this why so many people who need glasses prefer contact lenses?) So why aren’t television manufacturers working on 3-D TVs that don’t require glasses?
Actually, they are. Samsung and Toshiba, among others, have already announced that they will release glasses-free 3-D televisions in the next few years. And they already have televisions that can produce 3-D images that don’t require glasses.
The TVs just aren’t ready yet. The problem is threeefold. First, the current screens are only capable of producing low-resolution images. In addition, the TV panels are expensive to produce. And finally, and most important, watching 3-D video on these screens requires the viewer to remain motionless. Move just a little, and the 3-D image suddenly appears distorted.
Nevertheless, many companies are investing in 3-D technology. So it’s a sure bet that eventually, the problem of glasses-free 3-D TVs will be surmounted.
Monday, September 20th, 2010
Want to tape something really special? Find your local Golden Hour.
 The Golden Hour–also called the Magic Hour–is that beautiful time of day when the sun sits at the horizon line and the sky is flooded with pinks, blues, and oranges. It occurs during the first and last hour of sunlight each day (at sunrise or sunset). Since the Golden Hour provides flattering light to skin tones, Hollywood cinematographers have filmed scenes at this time of day for decades. The long shadows that also occur offer interesting depth.
However, the Golden Hour is tough to pinpoint, and doesn’t always last a full hour. Luckily, there’s an easy way to find out when your local Golden Hour happens:
http://www.b-roll.net/goldenhour/
Simply type in your date and location, and the calculator provides you with your current Golden Hour information. (It also helpfully adds the Blue Hour as well, which is the time right before sunrise or right after sunset, when filming whites can be problematic.)
Don’t forget to set up early if you’re shooting a Golden Hour–it doesn’t last long!
Saturday, September 18th, 2010
 Whenever you’re near an outlet, don’t hesitate to hook up your camcorder’s A/C adapter. This requires a bit of effort (and more equipment than a simple little battery) but you’ll save significant power in your batteries if you just plug in whenever you can. Batteries run out fast on camcorders!
Naturally, it’s easy to plug in when you’re reviewing your footage–whether on the computer or on the TV. Remember, using batteries for playback will drain them as quickly as filming does. But also consider plugging in when you’re filming for awhile in a stationary position; for example, when your camcorder is on a tripod and you’re filming your daughter in the school play.
Use the A/C adapter as much as possible, and use your batteries only when your camcorder needs to be outside or moving.
Tuesday, September 14th, 2010
 Lots of Timeless DVD customers ask us to download videos from YouTube and convert them to DVDs. However, did you know that you can easily download just about any video from YouTube yourself? By downloading a video, you can watch it on your own computer, whenever you want, regardless of server issues–and even convert it to DVD or MP4 for iPad viewing, if you are so inclined. A few websites make this possible, but the best and easiest is arguably KeepVid.
Here are the steps to take:
1) Go to the YouTube page for the video you wish to download.
2) Copy the URL. (For example:Â http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lodY4pJbft0)
3) Go to www.keepvid.com.
4) The page is very simple. Just paste the YouTube link into the “Enter video URL…” box and click DOWNLOAD.
5) A new page will load. You may get a warning message about allowing an applet access to your computer. Click Allow or whatever similar option is available.
6) The page will load a selection of available download links for the video. The links usually include FLV, MP4, WebM, 3GP, and MP3 options. MP4 is likely the best option to click, as it is widely compatible and provides the best quality. FLV is the Flash format that YouTube serves up automatically. But try out the other links and see which you prefer. Also, look for the highest pixel count: for instance, 480p will provide a larger picture and better quality than 240p.
7) Click on the link of your preference and it should download to your computer.
That’s it! It’s that simple. And the KeepVid service also works for other video sharing sites such as Dailymotion, Google Video, and Metacafe.
Saturday, September 11th, 2010
It’s easy to see video as a solitary activity. You run a camcorder by yourself; often the videographer is completely isolated from the action. And if you edit your video, that is usually done on your own as well. But is there a legitimate reason for videographers to interact? And should they?
Actually, videography wasn’t always a job done by one person. Back in the 1960s, when “video tape” became a reality, video equipment was heavy, complex to use, and very pricey. So it was a team effort, most often run and paid for by production studios and TV stations. In 1967, Sony’s Portapak was released, which enabled portable video recording for the first time. Although it was still an expensive endeavor, the Portapak did make it possible for just a few people to run a camera setup–and the results can be seen in the extensive video that came out of the Vietnam War.
It wasn’t until 1983, when the camcorder arrived, that consumer video really took off. Suddenly, everyone could buy a camcorder (given the funds), and you weren’t limited to working with a small group of techies. But the downside is that newbie videographers also didn’t have any skills. They learned on the go and shot video by themselves.
But two important things have changed since the early 1980s. First, more and more people have camcorders every year. Video cameras have dropped in price and have become just as prevalent as still cameras in American homes. So it is likely that not only do your family friends have camcorders, but many people in your neighborhood or workplace do as well. And secondly, the Internet has changed the way we communicate. Now we can discuss video online, with people clear across the country. We can more easily learn about shooting techniques or software tips. We share raw footage and finished videos on YouTube.
Video as a “team” mentality has come full circle. We do not have to be solitary producers any longer, and can learn a lot by working together. The Internet has some excellent sites and forums for videographers who wish to ask questions, share information, and just interact socially. Here are a few links to some great sites and forums:
VideoHelp.com - How-to guides, forums, and more.
After Dawn Forums – Tech discussion forums on every topic under the sun.
Apple Discussion Forums – With subforums for iMovie and Final Cut Studio.
Adobe Premiere Pro Forum - Geared to Premiere; also forums for Photoshop as well
Windows Movie Maker Forums - Extensive forum for Windows MM users
Wednesday, September 8th, 2010
While Timeless DVD will be adding HD transfer service in the near future, we’d be lying if we didn’t admit that the vast majority of our orders and queries involve transferring plain old analog video tapes to DVD (or video files). But that’s completely normal, considering analog tapes were the primary format used by consumers over the past thirty-some years.
 But as a business that intends to be around for a long time, we also frequently examine where DVD technology is heading. Manufacturers would like us to believe that Blu-Ray is the natural progression from DVD. But the fact remains that the consumer adoption rate for Blu-Ray is much slower than it was for DVD. In a recent poll, it was discovered that only 7 percent of American homes have a Blu-Ray player. Americans are still not sold on the idea of Blu-Ray, even though its picture quality is twice as good as regular DVD. Why is this?
In all likelihood, more polling research holds the answer: 51% of people of all ages watch at least some video content online. If television shows and movies are easily downloadable and takes up no space in your home, why invest in a new generation of optical media?
Internet video is a great idea, and likely explains why Blu-Ray has not taken off. Nevertheless, service providers have not cracked seamless Internet video yet. Bandwidth remains spotty with many providers, service plans, and areas. Plus, devices such as Apple TV and Roku have not yet mastered a simple and convenient user experience. Cable and satellite on-demand boxes are currently the most reliable providers in this area, especially for HD content–but they aren’t exactly “internet video.”
But who could have predicted the explosion of DVDs way back in 1990? Here in 2010, we have no idea what the prevailing video delivery method will be in 2030. But we’re sure looking forward to finding out!
Sunday, September 5th, 2010
 Advanced camcorder users should consider trying out filters. A filter fits across your lens, and can function in a variety of ways. For instance, on a very bright day, a filter can correct the light exposure. If it’s raining, a filter can protect your camcorder’s lens. A filter can even tint your picture and make it look as though you were shooting through “rose-colored glasses!”
Think of a filter as a transparent lens cap. A typical filter is shown on at right; this particular one corrects for UV light (as many do). And keep in mind that one of the best uses for a filter–no matter the type–is simply to prevent your camcorder’s high-quality lens from being scratched!
Wednesday, September 1st, 2010
 “Cloud computing” is a current hot trend sweeping the computer industry. The basic concept is simple: Instead of storing your data on your computer, DVDs, or an external hard drive, you would upload it to a server on the Internet. It doesn’t matter where that server is located physically, and in fact, parts of your data might be located on multiple server computers. It doesn’t matter–the data is just up in a “cloud” somewhere. All you need to do is purchase server space from companies that host your media on their computers.
As long as you are connected to the Internet, you can get your data–photos, documents, videos, whatever–from anywhere you happen to be. In theory, you could use a laptop, cell phone, or even a web kiosk at an airport. No more copying files to Flash drives or purchasing huge hard drives to back up video files. In the future, it’s a good bet that DVR-ish devices will be able to connect to your “cloud” data and instantly access any movies you own. So no need for DVDs at all…right?
Hold on. The future of Timeless DVD aside, it’s worth considering if having all your videos “up in a cloud” is wise. If you purchase a movie or TV show, shouldn’t you own it without any limitations? Shouldn’t you be in control of your files at all times? One serious drawback to cloud computing is the ability to connect to the Internet. If your service is slow or unreliable, you may not be able to access your files whenever you want. And shouldn’t 100% accessibility be a given for files that you have purchased?
In addition, how is cloud computing affected by hackers? It’s not unimaginable that unsavory types might find it quite easy (and irresistible) to break into and mess around with your personal files and media. Or worse yet, plant viruses capable of wiping out all your data. Will cloud companies be able to deal with security issues? And if they do, will their safeguards make it more difficult for their actual customers to connect to their data?
Finally, how much access will the cloud hosting company have to your files? It’s a sure bet that once service providers have your data, they’ll search for ways to lock you in to contracts to prevent you from moving your files to another company. It also raises issues of who exactly controls your data: you, or the company? And similarly, what kind of consumer protections will there be? Data miners will be salivating to crawl through consumers’ videos and music to learn likes and dislikes and sell that information to the highest bidder.
While cloud computing may be hot, we don’t see it as the best place to store your data–simply another place to store your data. It’s a good solution if you travel frequently, or want to easily share the same files between work and home computers. But as a replacement for the good old movie or home video DVD? Sorry–the technology’s simply not there yet.
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